Monday, September 20, 2010

Creme Brulee

Monday, September 20, 2010
Craig's favorite dessert is Creme Brulee. It sounds like a difficult dessert, yet it is so easy.


"HEALTHIFIED" CREME BRULEE
6 egg yolks
6 TBS Swerve (or erythritol and a drop of stevia glycerite)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract (I used 1 vanilla bean)
2 1/2 cups heavy cream

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Beat egg yolks, 4 tablespoons Swerve and vanilla in a mixing bowl until thick and creamy. Pour cream and vanilla bean (if using) into a saucepan and stir over low heat until it almost comes to boil. Remove the cream from heat immediately. Stir cream into the egg yolk mixture; beat until combined. Pour cream mixture into the top of a double boiler. Stir over simmering water until mixture lightly coats the back of a spoon; approximately 3 minutes. Remove mixture from heat immediately and pour into a shallow heat-proof dish. Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and cool to room temperature. Refrigerate for 1 hour, or overnight.


Preheat oven to broil. Sift the remaining sweetener evenly over custard. Place dish under broiler until sweetener melts, about 2 minutes. Watch carefully so as not to burn. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Refrigerate until custard is set again.

NUTRITIONAL COMPARISON (per serving)
Using Sugar = 436 calories, 13.2 carbs, trace fiber (13.2g effective carbs)
Using Swerve = 387 calories, 0.6 Carbs, trace fiber (0.6g effective carbs)

20 comments:

  1. dumb question but is heavy cream the same as heavy whipping cream?

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  2. There are never dumb questions! I really believe that. Yes, it is the same;)

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  3. i hate to bug in, but heavy cream must have at least 36% fat to be called that (by law in the US). Whipping cream needs only to be at least 30%. Not a huge difference but not that they often sell "light" whipping cream and "heavy" whipping cream. Sorry, I went to pastry school, so I know this is ingrained in me. ANd its not a dumb question at all!

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  4. Very, very good. As you suggested, I saved my egg yolks from the bun recipe to try this recipe. Glad I did.

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  5. how many servings does this make?

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    1. Depends on the size of the ramekin. I had 6 for this recipe (and nutritional info). ;)

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  6. Can I make this with So Delicious Unsweetened Coconut Milk in the carton instead of cream? I could add some coconut oil to make it fattier. I don't do dairy well and don't have any coconut cream. Thanks! Michelle

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    1. If you can get coconut milk in the can, just open the can and take the cream off the top. :)

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  7. why not use Stevia only? aren't sugar alcohols not really good for you?
    What is the difference between Stevia & Swerve?

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    1. I find that the results are better with a blend of sweeteners. Stevia by itself can have a bitter aftertaste and doesn't supply the 'bulk' of a sugar. I like Swerve because it is a blend and tastes and bakes the most like regular sugar while still having no calories and being gluten and GMO free. :) Sugar alcohols (Erythritol) are fine for our bodies. Here is a link with more info.
      http://www.marksdailyapple.com/sugar-alcohols/#axzz29QJA03w0

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  8. Maria, this sounds delicious, but can you tell me how you calculated the nutritional info?
    I come up with over 500 calories and 15g of carbs for 1/6 of this recipe.
    (2 1/2 cups of heavy cream alone is over 2000 calories, and egg yolks 328.)...???

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    1. I estimated it as 6 servings. 6 egg yolks and 2.5 cups cream is 1364 calories and 12.3g carbs according to this site: :)
      http://caloriecount.about.com/cc/account/flog_add.php?tab=new_recipe

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  9. That web site doesn't work for me when I enter 2 or 2 1/2 cups. It will only show 1 cup no matter what I enter. Could that have happened in your case? Aren't there at least 50 calories per tablespoon in heavy creams? If so, 2 1/2 cups would be 40 tablespoons. Believe me, I WANT to be wrong, lol.

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    1. Hmm, there must be a bug in their calculations. I'll try another site to confirm. I updated it above. Thanks for pointing that out. Looks like they don't multiply currently when it comes to cups of cream. :(

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  10. A few more calories are worth a special treat like this every once in a while, especially since it is still very low in carbs! (I so love Creme Brulee!) I will definitely try this one soon! Thanks! :)

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    1. Yes it is. And as you can see, the original also had this error so it is still less than the original. :)

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  11. Can I use JLS? That is all I have.

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  12. LOOOOOVE your website! You have a devoted new follower here :) I am on the Hypoglycemia Diet, which is basically, sugar free, low carb, gluten free. I'm always searching fro recipes that I can make and this looks DIVINE! Creme brulee was an absolute fav when I lived in Africa, they served it immediately after broiling, so basically room temp and warm on the top, and NOBODY makes it that way here!... but ME now! :D

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    1. Thank you so much! That sounds yummy! :)

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